The two stretches of the Ram Janki Marg project will be completed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by May and December 2027, repectively, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday, saying the project is at various stages of completion. “Land acquisition has been completed in all the districts in Uttar Pradesh... In Bihar, an award for land acquisition has been completed for a stretch from Mehrauna Ghat to Masrakh,” he said. The Ram Janki Marg project connects Ayodhya in UP with Bhithamore in Sitamarhi district in Bihar near the Nepal border, aiming to improve regional connectivity and boost religious tourism, local business, agriculture, travel, trade, enhance employment and investment opportunities, and strengthen India-Nepal cultural ties.
Rs 12.55l refunds for faulty tolls on NH in 2024’
The government on Thursday said 12.55 lakh refunds were made in 2024 for faulty toll collections on National Highways. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari said penalties of more than Rs 2 crore have been levied so far on the user fee collecting agencies for incorrect user fee deduction cases. He also said if toll agencies are found responsible for incorrect user fee deduction, a 30-50x penalty on excess user fee will be imposed on the fee collecting agency. Responding to a separate question, Gadkari said state-owned NHAI is also considering the installation of audit cameras at high-value toll plazas to independently monitor the accurate count and classify vehicles using Artificial Intelligence.
99.78% existing land records digitised: Govt
Almost all existing land records in rural areas have been digitized under Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) launched in 2016. Responding to questions on the subject, MoS for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu on Thursday said, “As of now, 99.78% digitization of existing land records (Record of Rights) have been completed. Some areas of northeastern states do not have land records like other states due to community ownership issues and the UT of Ladakh has started digitization in last couple of years. So far, rural areas have been mainly covered under DILRMP,” the minister said, adding, under the programme, a computerised registration system is being facilitated so that the formalities can be conducted online.